Mets rookie pitcher has the opportunity to do something most kids only dream about

New
York Mets pitcher Steven Matz delivers against the Los Angeles
Dodgers during the first inning of Game 4 of the National League
Division Series, October 13, 2015, in New
York.AP Photo/Kathy
Willens

When New York Mets rookie pitcher Steven Matz takes the mound
tonight against the Chicago Cubs in Game Four of the National
League Championship Series, he will have a chance to do something
that kids all over the world dream about: bringing the team you
grew up rooting for to the championship.

With the Mets up 3-0 in the seven-game series and needing
only one more win to reach their first World Series since
2000, Matz is in a unique position to be the hometown hero.

Matz grew up in Stony Brook, New York, on Long Island, the heart
of Mets country. He and
his family are "huge Mets fans," his father, Ron, a
service manager at a local Jeep dealership, told The Daily News
before the beginning of the 2015 season.

The fandom runs deep, according to Ron.

“My father
is a huge Mets fan, and it’s just special just to be 45
minutes to an hour away from the field,” Ron Matz told CBS
New York.

In the days before his July major league debut, Matz told
the New York Post that pitching for the Mets was "a
dream come true."

“Growing up watching Endy Chavez make that catch over the wall
[in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS] is probably the most vibrant memory
I have," Matz told the Post, referencing the last time that the
Mets were in the playoffs.

Matz was 15 at the time and just starting to receive
buzz from professional scouts.

Here's Matz talking about growing up as a Mets fan before a start
in September:

Matz had a long and somewhat ponderous journey to the majors. The
first professional offer Matz received was to play for the Los
Angeles Dodgers, but he reportedly held out in the hopes of
becoming a Met.

The dream came true when he was drafted by the
organization 72nd overall in August 2009. The following
spring, however, he tore his elbow ligament, forcing him to get
Tommy John surgery. He didn't throw a professional pitch until
2012.

Since debuting for the Kingsport Mets in 2012, Matz has moved
efficiently through minor league system. In 2014, the Mets named
Matz the "Organizational Pitcher of The Year."

After opening the 2015 season with the Mets' Triple A affiliate,
Matz made his major league debut on June 28,
pitching 7 2/3 innings of 2-run ball. Perhaps more
astonishingly, Matz went 3 for 3 at the plate with four
RBIs, setting a record for hits and RBIs for a pitcher's MLB
debut.

Matz's grandfather was on hand to see the action. Here he is
reacting to Matz second RBI hit:

Your browser does not support the video tag.
Amazin Avenue/Screenshot

Matz is the first pitcher from Long Island to
make his MLB debut with the Mets sinceRay Searagein 1981.